We would only be in Maui for two and a half days so we didn’t really plan a lot. Plus, we had done our really adventurous Maui adventure of circling the whole island (and taking the Road to Hana twice – don’t ask!) about four years ago with our daughter. So we were much more in the “take it easy mode”, plus glad to get out of the East Coast winter for a few days.

The first thing to do was take a long walk along the beachside pathway that connects all the hotels along Wailea. This is also a fun way to see the other hotels and condos.

If you are interested in getting away from the resort, I recommend taking the road to Lahaina which is on West Maui and the site of the old whaling station. You can see the world’s largest banyan tree there which now covers the entire old city plaza. That’s West Maui (Maui to two volcanoes connected by a flat plains) rising out beyond the Wailea beach.

Another more adventurous choice is to head out to Molokini Island which is an old carter half-submerged and a great spot for snorkeling and scuba. The big island in the photo is Lanai, also known as Larry Ellison’s Island, and in front of it is Molokini. You can see the white dots of diving boats within the Molokini crater.

Here is a tip for what to do when you are though sightseeing or snorkeling. Dining out is pretty expensive in Hawaii since most everything must be imported. A trick to help with this is to scout out the Happy Hours around town. We found a pretty good one at Gannon’s which is located at the Wailea Golf Course. We had a great meal and drinks for about two-thirds of what it cost us the first night at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Plus, a great view!

Finally, I will leave you with what I thought was a funny sign. I really didn’t expect to see a deer crossing outside of the golf course! Also, some great shots of sunset over Kaholawe Island taken from Lahaina.